Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $1.71

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ:PACB) has been given an average rating of “Reduce” by the six analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $1.71.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on PACB shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Pacific Biosciences of California from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. UBS Group started coverage on Pacific Biosciences of California in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1.35 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Pacific Biosciences of California from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 13th.

Insider Transactions at Pacific Biosciences of California

In related news, insider Mark Van Oene sold 26,911 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.13, for a total transaction of $30,409.43. Following the transaction, the insider owned 2,705,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,057,613.89. This trade represents a 0.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider James R. Gibson II sold 661,815 shares of Pacific Biosciences of California stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.11, for a total transaction of $2,058,244.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 1,083,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,370,767.28. This trade represents a 37.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 3.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pacific Biosciences of California

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Essential Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Choreo LLC bought a new stake in Pacific Biosciences of California during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Interchange Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new position in Pacific Biosciences of California during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Pinegrove Venture Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Pacific Biosciences of California in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,584.

Pacific Biosciences of California Stock Performance

PACB stock opened at $2.44 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $758.43 million, a P/E ratio of -5.67 and a beta of 2.21. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $1.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1.62. Pacific Biosciences of California has a 52 week low of $1.07 and a 52 week high of $3.43.

Pacific Biosciences of California (NASDAQ:PACB) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $39.01 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $42.90 million. Pacific Biosciences of California had a negative return on equity of 5,752.12% and a negative net margin of 82.49%. Sell-side analysts predict that Pacific Biosciences of California will post -0.52 EPS for the current year.

Pacific Biosciences of California Company Profile

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc (NASDAQ: PACB) is a life sciences technology company that develops and supplies DNA sequencing systems, consumables and related software. The company is best known for its single-molecule, real-time (SMRT) sequencing technology, which produces highly accurate long-read data used to analyze complex genomes, structural variation, genetic disease and other biological information.

PacBio’s product portfolio includes the Revio long-read sequencing system, the Sequel II and Sequel IIe platforms, sequencing consumables and the associated data-analysis software.